


Her Name Was Lola

by tylerscreamingintothevoid



Series: Haunt [2]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Gen, Ghost Neil, Ghosts, Helping The Dead, M/M, No Explicit Violence, Psychic Abilities, Psychic Andrew, Soul Bond, TW for mild serial killer mention stuff, Talking To Dead People, Will update tags if I do put that in though, Witch Aaron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-08-24 22:01:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16648646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tylerscreamingintothevoid/pseuds/tylerscreamingintothevoid
Summary: Upon returning home, psychic Andrew Minyard summons the spirit of Neil Wesninski. However, he is frustrated to learn that he's going to yet again require external help.Enter adept necromancer Aaron Minyard.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> incest supports, don't interact

  
Minyard had expected the text containing the incantation to summon Neil to come from Renee, as she had said, and yet he received it from aforementioned third member of their unofficial cult.   
  
His twin brother had finally reached out to him for the first time in years.   
  
He glanced over the text.   
  
_Here's the incantation._ _  
_ _Hi, by the way._   
  
Not wanting to waste time thinking about why Aaron would text him this, or why Renee and Moreau had told him to, Minyard clicked out of his messages. He jotted the spell down into his notepad app, then pocketed hjs phone. He was sitting up against the window of the cab, freezing cold while the rain pattered against the roof and the sides of the car.   
  
What could he say to his twin? What with their falling out, and how everything was going... and he had something more important.   
  
Indeed, he had in his pocket a crystal that contained the would of Nathaniel "Neil" Wesninski, the final victim of the Butcher of Baltimore, whose body had never been found. It was a lot to take in, all in one night, and he was dying to get back on the flight to get home and try to summon the boy.   
  
The flight felt like it had taken years, honestly. The unanswered text from his brother was still gnawing at him.   
  
_Hey. How did it go? Did you summon him properly?_   
  
Well, at least he was trying for an actual conversation.   
  
Minyard threw off his _legendary psychic_ hat and reverted into just Andrew. Just _Andrew Minyard_ .   
  
Andrew groaned and took his coat off, setting the crystal down on top of his bookshelf. Dealing with spirits always gave him a migraine, and he needed to deal with that before he even thought about Neil.  He put on a pot of coffee and took an aspirin, wincing as he swallowed before stretching his back out.   
  
His bungalow was small, but it was completely his, filled with his work tools as well as three full bookshelves, a desk for his work and a small kitchen. There was a small bedroom too, as well as a living area where a television sat on a stand.   
  
He could have afforded more, if he wished, but the way it was suited him just fine.   
  
His gaze kept being drawn back to the crystal. Again, and again, Neil Wesninski was taking his interest. Couldn't he allow himself a minute to relax after all that had just happened?   
  
He stirred his coffee up, adding caramel syrup and the extra spoonfuls of sugar to add to the unending sweetness. He put a record onto his record player and started it up, retro music flowing through his house. He sipped his coffee, and picked up the crystal.   
  
Neil died because of Nathan, and... someone else. Who _was_ she?   
  
He set the fire on, the sitting room warming. It was time to put his legendary psychic hat back on. He placed the crystal in one of the armchairs, nd sat in the other. He stroked the arms slowly, calming himself.   
  
He uttered the incantation, and a breeze went through the room. "Neil, are you-"   
  
"Where am I?" Neil was sitting in the armchair, looking more tinted blue and his clothes more tattered, looking terrified. "I don't know where I am. Minyard? Is that you?"   
  
Minyard chewed his lip. "Yes. And this is my home, now yours too. Welcome."   
  
Neil blinked, curling up in the chair. "Mine too? What do you mean... how did I get here?" He gasped, glancing around as if he just found himself in some strange otherworldly location. Which, in a way, he sort of was. "I'm not in the room. I'm not in the room."   
  
Andrew raised an eyebrow and then sat up. "No, you're not. We freed you, and I brought you here."   
  
"You and your... mean friends..."   
  
"Harsh, maybe, Neil. But not mean." The blonde stirred his coffee as he said that. "They _did_ help you, and now you're safe because of them."   
  
Neil sighed. "Oh... I see... so I live _here_ now."   
  
"I'm wounded, Neil."   
  
Andrew took a sip of his coffee. "I thought your name was Nathaniel?"   
  
Neil looked down, nervous, uncomfortable. "I was named after my dad. I don't want to be."   
  
"So Neil, then. I'm Andrew."   
  
"I thought you were... Minyard? Oh. That's your surname, isn't it." Neil went a little pink. "I feel honoured that you helped me."   
  
"It was nothing." Andrew huffed, and then got out of his chair, walking to his bedroom to get Neil some more comfortable clothes. He settled on some old sweatpants and a soft sweater, bringing them back out to the man.   
  
Neil was sitting so close to the fire, his pale translucent blue hand in the flames and turning an odd green.   
Andrew shook his head, and dropped the clothes on the chair. "Get changed, Neil."   
  
Neil turned. "Okay."   
  
He stood, and unbuttoned his shirt, shrugging it off. Once again, Andrew found himself having to look away in embarrassment. He covered his eyes with his hand, and groaned. "Okay, are you decent already?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
Andrew looked at him, and then shook his head. "The shirt is on backwards, idiot."   
  
"Oh, sorry." Neil peeled the sweater off again, turning it the right way before putting it back on. "Thank you."   
  
Andrew didn't answer. "So, your father? Is he still going to be a problem?"   
  
Neil tilted his head. "What do you mean?"   
  
"He's not going to follow you to my house and kill me in my sleep, I mean."   
  
"No. He'd only hurt me, I think..." Neil shrugged. "And he's dead, so."   
  
Andrew hummed. "Okay. Can he hurt you, here?"   
  
"I don't know. I haven't been here enough to know. I feel... cleaner, though."   
  
"Cleaner."   
  
"I don't need to have a bath. I don't feel like I'm hurting." Neil looked down at the carpet. "The... the room, it hurt me."   
  
"How did the room hurt you?"   
  
"It made me hurt. Made me remember everything, feel it. I'd scream. I'd yell, I'd... was my body  ever found?” Neil took a deep breath. "Didn't one of you say that? I'm confused."   
  
Andrew shook his head again. "No one could find it, some people don't believe you exist."   
  
"They don't.... so I'm nobody?"   
  
"Your father... he was one of the most prolific serial killers of his day." Andrew picked at a hangnail. "You were rumoured to be his last victim."   
  
Neil's eyes drooped, and he slumped over. He picked at his ankles, shaking his head. "My father wasn't bad. I don't think he could... you didn't know him, nobody did..."   
  
He seemed extremely confused.   
  
Andrew stared at him, before furrowing his brows. "Neil, he murdered dozens of people, including you."   
  
Neil shook his head and scratched more at his ankles, up his legs. "No. He couldn't. He always brought me things when he came home from business trips. He never- no, no. You're wrong."   
  
He twitched, a little.   
  
"Neil, he murdered you. He killed you, and he dumped your body where no one would find you." Andrew moved closer to him. "You _do_ know that, you _have_ to know that."   
  
"He was never mean, unless I was disrespectful."   
  
Neil was shaking, nails digging into his knees. "Unless I was rude."   
  
Andrew did not sign up for this.  "Neil, who was that woman? The woman who hurt you?"   
  
"She wasn't my mom, she wasn't... you're not my mom, you can't do that..." Neil looked sickly. Well, as sickly as a literal ghost could look.   
  
"Neil, you're safe here. They can't get you."   
  
"They- they got married... they..." Neil widened his eyes. "The pastor, who married them. Who was found dead. I always thought it was them. I said it, and he..."   
  
"Who was she, Neil?"   
  
"They packed their bags one day. Not mine, theirs. They took me to the hotel." He coughed, horridly. "She was... she..."   
  
He looked up at Andrew, directly.   
  
"Lola... she was Lola. Yes, her. Her. She did things to me, she thought she could do them, she..." Neil shook his head. "Who is she?"   
  
"I have no idea, but I can only assume that she helped your father." Andrew frowned. "She was there, in the hotel."   
  
"What? She was. Oh, yes. I remember. She almost killed the handsome friend...Lola... Lola Malcolm, she was. Oh, Andrew? We have a name for her.."   
  
The boy was so scatterbrained.   
  
"Neil, come on, focus."   
  
"My head hurts..."   
  
Andrew was growing impatient with the spirit. "Neil, you need to focus so we can work together."   
  
"I can't, it hurts, it-"   
  
And Neil disappeared, the crystal shining brightly again.   
  
Andrew grumbled and went over, inspecting it. He'd pushed Neil too far, yes, but he needed answers. More importantly, he needed help with Neil. He didn't have an endgame plan in mind at all.   
  
In short, he was going to be useless at helping Neil.   
  
Luckily, or perhaps unfortunately for Andrew, he knew of someone who had dabbled in necromancy. He went to his phone, and hesitantly texted his brother a reply.   
  
_Come over, and bring your necronomicon._  
  
The first thing he'd communicated to Aaron in a... in two... in a few years.   
  
Aaron sent a thumbs up emoji in reply. This was actually happening.


	2. Chapter 2

Aaron Minyard would say that yes, he dabbled in necromancy. In fact, he was quite proficient in it. He'd learned how to cast resurrection spells on smaller animals at a young age. He only stopped when he came home to a staggering, zombie cat, throwing up acid and organs all over the kitchen floor.   
  
He was also very into cults. A sad fact of his life, really, but it gave him a sense of community when he meddled with darkness. Around most, he was a grumpy and irritable man, but around other witches, spirits and fellow necromancers, he felt quite at home.   
  
He rolled up to Andrew's house exactly as the clock struck midnight, and he gave three quick knocks. Hippocrates- Hippo, for short- was curled up on his shoulder, tail swinging low over his chest.   
  
Aaron was going to see his twin brother for the first time in a long while.   
  
He knocked.   
  
And, even though it was Andrew's house, he was still surprised to see him answer.   
  
Though they were twins, they looked rather different. Aaron's hair was parted in the middle, and he wore a dress shirt with stars on them. His cat was of course on his shoulder, and he had well-rested eyes. Oh, and of course, they were mismatched, from his years of practicing dark magic. His left now resembled a cat's eye.   
  
Andrew however, was in one big sweater and heavy pyjamas, a scarf pulled tightly around his neck. His fringe was curled, and he had on his spectacles.   
  
He looked far less content than his twin brother, that much was certain.   
  
"Aaron."   
  
"Andrew." Aaron nodded, and then let his cat down to run inside. "Hello."   
  
"I hate cats." Andrew grimaced down at Hippocrates. "And yet you brought one into my home."   
  
"No, you don't."   
  
"You're disrespectful, brother."   
  
"That's rich, coming from you." Aaron stepped around him, into the warm apartment. "Where is he?"   
  
"He's..." Andrew glanced away. "I scared him off. Again."   
  
"So I need your help. You're more proficient with dark arts, so... get to it." Their first reunion in years was going swimmingly so far. "He's in a crystal Renee gave me."   
  
"You scared him off again? Figures."   
  
Aaron hummed and then nodded. "Where is the crystal?"   
  
"It's..." They wandered into the sitting room, and Hippocrates was already toying with the crystal, balancing it on her paw.   
  
Aaron smirked. "Good girl. How do we get him to come out?"   
  
"Well, the incantation you yourself texted me, huh?" Andrew smoothed down his sweater, a little nervous for no apparent reason other than his brother's presence. "Go on, then."   
  
Aaron murmured it to himself and then watched in detached amusement as Neil faded into existence.    
  
"Are those your clothes, Andrew?"   
  
Andrew gave his brother a rotten glance. "Yes."   
  
Neil was sitting on the floor where he'd appeared and widened his eyes as he saw Hippocrates glaring at him. He shuddered and held his hand out. "Kitty?"   
  
"He's a five-year-old, is he?"   
  
Andrew scoffed. "No. Nineteen, maybe? Frozen in time. Around our age."   
  
"Neil?" Aaron watched him, frowning. "Hippo, he's fine."   
  
She looked at him, before begrudgingly letting Neil pet her. Hippocrates slipped between his spectral fingers. She shivered and glanced up at Aaron. Neil looked up at Aaron. "Andrew? Andrews?"   
  
"My name is Aaron, I'm Andrew's brother. Can you tell me where you are?"   
  
"Andrew's hotel room. No, his house."   
  
"Good. Do you know who you are?"   
  
"Neil Wesninski."   
  
Andrew crossed his arms. "He's never that easy with me," he mumbled.   
  
Aaron nodded and then crouched to pick Hippocrates up, holding her close and stepping closer to him. "What's the last thing you remember before coming here, Neil?"   
  
"Your eye is funny," muttered Neil, wandering off topic. "What happened to it?"   
  
Aaron raised an eyebrow and then hummed. "It matches Hippo's, see?" 

He held up the cat for Neil to look at. "Part of what I do."   
  
"Oh..."   
  
"Answer his question, Neil-"   
  
Aaron held his hand out. "Don't be so stern, he's just curious. What do you last remember before coming here, Neil?"   
  
"Um..."   
  
Neil chewed on his lip. "I was in the room when it happened. When the- when Andrew and the other two..."   
  
"Jean, and Renee." Aaron nodded. "Good, that's really good Neil."   
  
"And before that, Andrew helped me. He cleaned me. And before-" Neil choked a little and coughed to get the words out. "Before... I.. was with my father, and his..."   
  
Andrew hated how good Aaron was at this. He perked up a little, though. "Lola?"   
  
Neil nodded.   
  
"Who is she," continued Aaron. "Who's Lola? Do you remember?"   
  
"They got married... she hurt me in ways my dad never would... and then they killed me."   
  
"Where's your body?" Neil went whiter, if possible. Hippo looked out at him, curious. "Do you remember? It's okay if you don't."   
  
After a few more moments of catatonic silence, Aaron frowned more. "Neil, if you need to stop, that's okay."   
  
"I think..."   
  
Neil shifted, nervous.   
  
"I think she took my body, after. I don't know what she did with it, only that she dragged me out if that room."   
  
He looked a little relieved to get it off his chest, and he smiled up at them. "I'm... thank you..."   
  
Andrew's face had gone red. Aaron smiled. "Now, what protections have you put up for him here?"   
  
"Protections... I haven't put up any wards yet. He hasn't been out of his crystal much."   
  
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "So you want to keep him in there this whole time?"   


"No, I-"   
  
"Then you'll have to put a level two seal on the house. Use thyme, and lavender."   
  
Andrew felt his rage bubbling up, and he pushed his glasses up his nose. "Listen, asshole, I didn't invite you over to  _ my _ home to mansplain to me the concept of a protective fucking ward, the concept of leaves and shit."

"No, you just invited me over to use me instead. You're such a good brother, aren't you?"   
  
Andrew grinned, angrily. "Says the one who almost sacrificed my soul to Satan or something."   
  
"Oh, and the elephant in the room comes out then. Fine, I'll leave. Thanks for inviting me- Neil, it was a pleasure to meet you."   
  
Neil shook his head. "No, wait, why are you fighting? Aren't you b-brothers?"   
  
Aaron huffed and shifted Hippocrates in his arms. "Andrew refused to let me help him, and now he blames me."   
  
"Aaron tried to perform a dark ritual on me instead of letting an actual doctor do the surgery."   
  
Neil blinked. "Surgery? What surgery?"   
  
Aaron looked over at Andrew, nervous. "The surgery to-"   
  
"Be very fucking careful."   
  
Hippocrates hid behind the armchair, eager to get away from the argument.   
  
"Surgery to what?"   
  
"Surgery to make Andrew more comfortable, okay? I wanted to help, and he hates me for it."   
  
"I thought you wanted to- to 'fix me'. Weren't those your words?"   
  
"You  _ know _ that's not what I meant-"   
  
"But it's what you fuckin said, okay?"   
  
Neil widened his eyes. "Wait, what?"   
  
Andrew huffed and immediately began to tug his sweater off. Aaron looked alarmed, "Andrew, what are you doing?"   
  
"I'd like to show you both, yeah?"   
  
Aaron looked away as Andrew peeled off his shirt. His body was smooth, not a scar on the front to be seen besides those on his arms. Then, he muttered an incantation, and they were visible.   
  
Long scars, on his upper chest, in a 'u' shape near his ribs.   
  
"This is the surgery I got."   
  
Aaron couldn't look at him. "I was- it was just an alternative, I was trying to help."   
  
"You were off your rocker hooked on dark magic, and you wanted to, and I quote,  _ 'turn me into a boy' _ . That's what you said, wasn't it?"   
  
"I know, I know, but Andrew..." Aaron turned, arms crossed tightly with nerves. "I regret those words, okay? I didn't mean to make it sound that way, I just wanted to fucking help."   
  
"Then apologise!"   
  
"I'm sorry!"   
  
Andrew opened his mouth, then closed it. Eventually, he paled. "You... what."

"I'm sorry. I am."   
  
Neil widened his eyes. "You got top surgery?"   
  
Both Minyards turned to glare at him. 

Andrew looked back to his brother. "You went too far and got yourself pushed away."   
  
Aaron shifted uncomfortably but nodded. "Okay, understandable."   
  
He set his jaw. "I'm sorry, I never should have said that to you."   
  
Andrew sighed. "I..."   
  
He looked to Neil. His glassy eyes were somehow filled with hope.   
  
"I forgive you. And I'm sorry for not trying to call you, or anything, I guess."   
  
"Yeah, me too." Aaron took a deep breath and then sighed. "Neil, are you okay?"   
  
Neil gave an affirmative noise. "Yeah, and I think I remember something."   
  
"I remember she said she'd go to their hideout. She'd hide there with me till he got out."   
  
Andrew smiled. "Neil, you beautiful-"   
  
"She said it was at the place they got married. The shitty chapel, I- I remember!"   
  
Aaron raised an eyebrow at Andrew, before smiling. "You're doing so well, Neil."   
  
Neil smiled. "Thanks. Thank you. Do you think..."   
  
_ Do you think she's still there? _   
  
"We'll find out soon enough, buddy. Now, it's been a long week," groaned Andrew. "And my brother is staying on the pull-out couch."   
  
"If you don't want to go back into the crystal, Hippo can stay with you."    
  
Hippo looked offended at that, but she could hardly argue. Neil grinned. "Cool. Thanks, Hippo."   
  
She meowed softly, and nuzzled at his hand, going through him. Andrew groaned as he tugged his shirt back on. "Well, I'm sick of you all, so I'll retire to my room. Call me if something goes on fire."   
  
Neil waved him goodbye, left alone with Aaron. He crossed his legs. "You really think you can help me?"   
  
Aaron smirked. "I hope to the divines I can."


	3. Chapter 3

"Good morning."   
  
Andrew blinked his eyes open to Neil hovering a few inches below the ceiling, lying on his front and staring down at him.   
  
The blonde had never screamed with terror before, per se, and didn't plan on it, but this came close to breaking that personal rule.   
  
Neil covered his ears and whined. "Minyard, you're so loud-"   
  
"You're fucking terrifying, Wesninski. What are you doing-" Andrew huffed and tugged up his covers. "What are you doing in my room?"   
  
"Aaron said I should come to wake you. He's making pancakes."   
  
"I'm gluten intolerant. Coeliac. He should know that."   
  
"Oh. Well, he's concocting... something in there."

Andrew grabbed a t-shirt and let his feet hit the ground at the side of his bed. "He's concocting... what an oddly specific word, Neil. I don't like this, I'm going to check on him."   
  
Aaron was in the kitchen, humming to himself as he gave the saucepan a stir. Neil floated in and went up behind him. "Andrew said he's a coeliac. What are you cooking?"   
  
"Oh, he is? Damn, it slipped my mind. Then I guess you'll have to have it, won't you?"   
  
Andrew grabbed the door frame. "Hello? Aaron?"   
  
"Andrew, don't worry, Neil will have it."   
  
Andrew frowned, and then crossed his arms. "I'll try not to worry, then."   
  
"Just calm down. Neil, would you go fetch Hippo? She's probably hopping around the bathroom or doing something unspeakable in the sitting room."   
  
When Neil left, Aaron cocked his head. "It's not for you, you know. Have you heard of spiritual roaming spells? You should do it on yourself some time, or on those ghosts you go around the world 'communing' with."   
  
Andrew glared at him. "I have heard of them, asshole. I deal with ghosts for a living."   
  
"Well, let's just say these pancakes are..." Aaron let his hand hover over the pancake batter until it glimmered. "Flavoured."   
  
"Wow, you're so cool." Andrew huffed and then went to go and make coffee. "Hippocrates seems to be settling in well."   
  
"He does. But we'll get out of your hair once Neil is able to get us to Lola and back, don't worry."   
  
"Good." Andrew poured himself a cup. "Coffee?"   
  
"No thanks. Only tea for me." He smiled eerily at Andrew. "Only tea with a bit of blood."   
  
His brother looked a little alarmed before Aaron snorted. "I'm joking."   
  
Andrew frowned, and then got out the tea kit. "Make your own, then."   
  
"Okay. Have you any eye of newt lying around?"   
  
Andrew gave him the middle finger and went to look for Neil.

  
********   
  


The car was packed, Hippo settled comfortably inside and there was only one real thing left to do. Andrew sighed, and put his hands in his pockets. "Neil, come  _ on. _ "   
  
Neil shook his head a little, his eyes wide with fear, or the ghost of it.    
  
Aaron huffed. "You're safe, we promise."   
  
"What if I... what if I just disappear... what if it kills me..."   
_   
_ _ Ironic. _ __   
  
"Bit late for that, don't you think?"   
  
Aaron elbowed Andrew, and glared at him, before shaking his head. "You have to trust us, Neil."   
  
Neil held his head up and reluctantly reached his hand out in Andrew's direction. Andrew took it, the ghost feeling warm against his palm, warmer than Neil had ever felt before. Maybe Aaron's enchantment would make him feel more present.   
  
Andrew squeezed his hand, gently. "You're safe, Neil."   
  
Neil's eyes lit up, those pretty disks of blue, his distant gaze reduced to nothing but Andrew Andrew Andrew.   
  
He didn't know why he felt something now, but he knew that he felt it.   
  
For the first time since before he'd died, Neil felt his heart skip a beat. And maybe it was the enchantment making Neil warmer, but Andrew felt a lot more comfortable with him all of a sudden. Neil's mouth wobbled, curling into an adorable grin. "Yeah, I- I trust you."   
  
Aaron raised his eyebrows slightly but didn't comment. Andrew nodded and then took a step back. "I've got you."   
  
Neil stumbled closer to him, tilting his head a little. "You do, don't you?"   
  
Aaron made his way to the driver's side, opening the door before sitting in. "Daylight's flying by, kids."   
  
Andrew shot him the middle finger, leading Neil slowly into the sunlight.   
  
Neil took a few cautious steps forward, not letting go of Andrew as he did. Aaron clicked the doors open for them to hop in. "So, where to?"   
  
"A chapel," Neil offered. "In Baltimore."   
  


********   
  


The chapel in question was as you would expect a serial killer and his new girlfriend to get married at. It was small, discrete, boarded up and looked barely legal. So in essence, definitely where Lola Malcolm said: "I do."   
  
Aaron pulled up across the road. He'd driven for god-knows-how-many hours, and it was pitch dark outside. Street lights barely functioned around here, hell, streets weren't trafficked at all. Hippo was curled up in the back seat beside Neil, sleeping soundly.   
  
"We're here."   
  
"I see that," mumbled Neil. "I see that."   
  
Andrew frowned at it. "It's a dump, they got married here?"   
  
Neil tilted his head. "It's been ten years. It wasn't broken then."   
  
"And you think that she... brought you here?"   
  
"Maybe. Maybe? Maybe."   
  
"Neil."   
  
Aaron frowned. "Andrew, he's trying his best."   
  
Neil sighed. "Yeah, I'm... probably in there."   
  
So they all got out of the car and approached the chapel, Andrew holding out a handful of warding herds. "Okay, how will we get in?"   
  
Aaron pressed his palm to the boarded up door. "Have you got a crowbar?"   
  
Andrew chuckled. "I'm not a thug. No, I don't."   
  
Aaron hummed and then nodded. "Help me try and loosen these boards? They're all rotten, we might be able to tear them down."   
  
Andrew reached out with his free hand and got a grip on one of the boards, tugging at it. He winced at the soaked wood. "Eugh..."   
  
Aaron did the same, tugging and wiggling the boards until the rotten wood splintered around the nails keeping it in place. "Fuck, this is so gross."   
  
When Neil reached out to pull a board, he actually made a disgusted noise. "Eugh, I can  _ feel _ it..."   
  
Andrew glanced to his brother. "The enchantment," he whispered. "It makes him feel things stronger too, does it?"   
  
"I... don't know, maybe. It's different for every ghost."   
  
Neil tugged with great disgust until he had peeled a board or two loose. Andrew helped him with the next one until there was an opening large enough for them to open the door. "Here we go, I guess."   
  
Aaron didn't hesitate before kicking it in, Andrew jumping back in surprise. The blondes glared at each other before stepping in, Neil floating after them. The old church smelled of dust and decay, and it made Andrew sneeze, scrubbing at his nose with his sleeve. "Fuck, what is that smell?"

There was an old busted up altar with some rotten flowers on it, half-burned candles. The ceiling was high and arched, and the stained glass windows had accumulated dirt over the years that made the sunlight muted from outside. Neil hovered around, tugging at his collar. "I think they had a secret... place upstairs..."   
  
"Neil, are you sure you're okay doing this?"   
  
"Yes. I need to- need to see..."   
  
Aaron suddenly looked panicked, as he glanced between the two other boys. "Did you  _ hear... _ no, it's nothing."   
  
Andrew looked at him. "Did we hear what?"   
  
"I thought I heard..."   
  
Neil furrowed his brow. "Wait, I think I heard it too."   
  
Aaron frowned. "It's a high pitched... wobbly... sound..."

  
"I have no idea what you both are talking about, what the fuck-"   
  
But then he heard it too- a shrill, wave sound, coming from somewhere in the chapel. It didn't hurt or anything, it was just such a strange uncomfortable sound. "So you both hear it? I'm not going crazy?"

"You might be anyway," said Andrew. "But not because of this, no."   
  
Neil looked to both of them, blank-eyed and pale. "Upstairs."   
  
He disappeared.   
  
Andrew looked at Aaron, before turning on his heel and moving quickly to the stairs. "Neil!?"   
  
Aaron rushed after him, huffing. "Andrew, don't run off-"   
  
Andrew was already upstairs, stumbling against another wooden door. It was locked, and he tried to kick it in. He kicked again, and again, aiming for the lock until the wood split. Aaron had never seen him like that before, with anything. With a final punch to the center, the door cracked open. Inside, the filthy smell of rotten flesh wafted through the air.   
  
Two bodies.   
  
One, cut in half at the waist, severely rotted. The body of a teenage boy.   
  
The other, a woman, not fresh but less rotted.   
  
Nathaniel and Lola.


	4. Chapter 4

Neil was on his knees between the two bodies, one hand on Nathaniel's.   
  
"It's me."   
  
Andrew gagged, and covered his mouth. "Fuck."   
  
There was a hole in Nathaniel's stomach, an ugly grimy hole that mirrored Neil's now-clean yet-still-ghostly-and-disgusting one. Neil put his hand in, digging around in the rotted flesh.   
  
Aaron felt his stomach churn, and he grabbed the door handle for support. "Neil, oh my god, don't-"   
  
Neil turned, eyes hollow, face curled down in a lazy frown. "Don't tell me what to do. If I want to do this, I will do this."   
  
He reached into the flesh, dug in until his fingertips brushed against-   
  
Neil pulled out Nathaniel's heart- or whatever withered mess was left of it. He tilted his head and cupped it in his hands. He pressed it to his chest.   
  
Before the Minyards' eyes, Nathaniel's heart began to beat. Slow, slow, slow.   
  
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.   
  
_ Thump. Thump. Thump. _   
  
Or a dead heart beat.   
  
Andrew was pale, and he took a small step forward. "Neil?"   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"Are you...?"   
  
Okay? Alive? There were plenty of valid questions Andrew could ask.    
  
"What would you like us to do with your body?"   
  
Aaron chewed on his lip. "I could try to... revive-"   
  
Neil shook his head. "I thought about that in the car. I want... I want this gone. All of it. This church, Lola, Nathaniel... I want it fucking gone."   
  
"Neil, we could bring you back."   
  
"No, not like this... look at this, Andrew," Neil gestured to Nathaniel's corpse. "How would that... no."   
  
Andrew gritted his teeth. "You didn't fucking deserve to die, Neil."   
  
"You can't do this without me wanting to, and I don't want to. I want it all gone, Minyards. Are you able to do that, or are you just useless idiots who can see ghosts?" Neil was tearing up, and he crushed the crusty withered flesh in his hands. "Help me, I need this."   
  
Andrew looked reluctant, but eventually, Aaron nodded.    
  
"Neil, we... we need to bring you to justice."   
  
"How? Bring me to justice? What do you mean."   
  
"We need to call the police, expose Lola for what she did to you.... they need to know what happened to you."   
  
"And what will they do?" Neil frowned. "Haul away a bag of bones? Put it in all the papers'- Nathaniel Wesninski found, turns out he died by the side of his father's whore, who tortured him in countless ways."   
  
Andrew growled. "No-"   
  
Aaron cut him off and then sighed. "Neil, we... okay. But if we burn this place… if we burn it down, there's no guarantee you can stay."   
  
"You... what?"   
  
Aaron pursed his lips. "Sometimes, if the body burns, is destroyed completely..."   
  
"The soul dies too," continued Andrew. "Neil, we could bury you."   
  
Neil scowled. "Attending my own funeral then? How morbid."   
  
"Unless you want to be at rest?"   
  
"I don't want to go, I just want this..."   
  
"You want to stay?" Andrew frowned. "Why?"   
  
Neil opened his mouth, then closed it. "It's... it's just not an option."   
  
Aaron nodded. "I guess we'll have to carry your body back with us..."   
  
"You will." Neil sighed. "You will. And I thank you."   
  
Andrew grumbled. "You're gonna stink up Aaron's car."   
  
Aaron laughed. "It's fine. Hardly the first dead body that's been in it."   
  
"Excuse me?" Neil snorted. "And you're going to report Lola, or...?"   
  
"Of course we are, she..." Andrew gritted his teeth. "She's a fucking murderer."   
  
Aaron sighed. "Do you have anything else you need to do?"   
  
"No. No, I don't..."   
  
Neil glanced over Lola's body and squinted at her hands. He reached over with bloody fingers and slipped something off of her finger. A golden engagement ring, and a diamond wedding ring.   
  
"Nathan splashed out."   
  
Andrew snorted. "A waste."   
  
"We could sell these. I could have a set of clothes of my own instead of mooching off of you."

  
At the same time as Aaron agreed with him, Andrew huffed.   
  
"I don't mind."   
  
"Cool. Then... okay. Drag the body?"   
  
"Drag the body."


End file.
